News: Katherine Dunham

Wednesday 31 May 2006

- the African American dancer and choreographer who bought black dance traditions to a wide audience died recently at the age of 96.

‘Few people excel, as Katherine Dunham did, in two different spheres of activity. By combining her gifts as an academic and an entertainer, she did more than anyone to have black American dance recognised and celebrated as an important art form, in her homeland and internationally.’ Read more in the Times, 29 May

‘Dunham gave modern dance a technique that merged movements from African-Caribbean and African-American social dances with techniques of modern dance and ballet.’ Read more in the Guardian, 23 May